Clad in white, family, fans and friends part from singer Amir Fryszer Guttman

Hundreds of family members, friends and fans on Tuesday attended the funeral of Amir Fryszer Guttman, paying their respects to the singer and director who died a day after his near-lifeless body was pulled from choppy water as he saved his niece from drowning.

Attendees at the funeral in the central city of Netanya were dressed in all white, which his father Shmuel Faiger told the Ynet news site were his son’s wishes.

Earlier in the day, Guttman’s coffin was displayed at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv, where thousands turned out to honor his memory.

Among the speakers was Eyal Perry, Guttman’s brother, whose daughter the entertainer attempted to rescue as she drifted away in the sea off the Neve Yam beach in Atlit during a family outing.

“You ascended in a storm to the heavens, as only you know how,” he said. “We thank you for every moment you were with us.”

Perry also referred to the entertainer’s misdiagnosis with cancer, noting Guttman’s devotion to his family when he thought he was sick.

“Since you were told you were sick, it was tough for you, but you invested all your energy in everyone, [energy] you didn’t have. Until the last drop.”

Guttman died on Sunday, after he was rushed to hospital in critical condition a day earlier.

Guttman and his family and friends were at the beach, which had no lifeguard services, to celebrate the first anniversary of the date on which doctors informed him that he had been misdiagnosed with cancer, and that in fact, he actually had a much less severe disease.

Guttman’s death capped a tragic period for the entertainer.

In March 2016, Guttman was diagnosed by doctors at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital as suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but three months later, after undergoing several chemotherapy sessions, he was told by staff at the medical center that he did not, in fact, have cancer.

Earlier this month, Guttman filed a NIS 5 million ($1.4 million) lawsuit against Ichilov over the misdiagnosis.

In the 1990s, Guttman and the other members of the boy band Hi Five dominated Israel’s music charts, and the group’s hits, such as Yom Me’unan (Cloudy Day), Z’man Mesiba (Party Time) and Tzo’eket Ahava (Screaming Love), played repeatedly on local radio stations. The band broke up in 2000, but last year announced that it would reunite. However, after Guttman was misdiagnosed with cancer and due to poor ticket sales, a reunion tour was canceled.